South Deerfield man charged in deadly crash

GREENFIELD — A South Deerfield man has been charged with vehicular homicide, following an accident that took the life of an 83-year-old Montague woman.

Aaron Stark, 19, pleaded innocent to charges of vehicular homicide by negligent operation, manslaughter, and being a minor in possession of alcohol, in Franklin County Superior Court Thursday.

The Nov. 4, 2013, crash on River Road took the life of Celia A. Allen, who was pronounced dead on the scene. The crash occurred at about 3:06 p.m., and closed the road late into the night.

According to police, a Chevrolet Impala driven by Stark, and a Chevrolet Prizm driven by Allen collided head-on on a curve in the road.

At the scene, skid marks leading from the southbound lane of the road to Stark’s car, suggesting that Stark left his lane before the crash and applied the brakes heavily while doing so.

Stark was released on his own recognizance Thursday, and is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 22 for a pretrial conference. Stark is ordered not to operate any motor vehicle, and to remain alcohol free during his release. The prosecuting and defense attorneys hope to try the case in September.